Pro-life activist Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, made her voice heard at Washington State University’s campus Tuesday afternoon, whether it was welcome or not. 

One year and eleven days after the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk drew a crowd of 1,200 outside Murrow Hall, the TPUSA-affiliated Hawkins took to WSU’s Terrell Mall using Kirk’s famous “Prove me wrong” public debating method. 

Her message was both praised and ridiculed by the WSU student body, with crowds of supporters and protesters alike congregating around the speaker’s table. Her point of choice was made clear by large posters placed around the mall: “abortion is human sacrifice, change my mind.”

“I saw human sacrifice and was like, wow that’s a buzz word,” said WSU communications major Dallas De Bellis. “I was just instantly kind of appalled and thought, wow that’s crazy.”

The same message was displayed along the roof of the tent she sat beneath, where she debated students for over four hours on the topic. Hawkins invited students to step up to a microphone and speak their mind. A long line quickly formed. 

“I grew up in Texas and very Catholic, but at the end of the day I’m happy for them to have a choice to be able to have a family or not,” De Bellis said while holding a pro-choice protest sign. “At the end of my day I want to say my message to them is you have your choice, so why take away ours.”

De Bellis and fellow protesters claimed that this format of public debating is not meant to resolve any problems, but rather to stir the pot and make a buck.

De Bellis pointed to Hawkins’ tent and stated, “This chick, and everyone involved with Turning Point USA, their whole point is rage baiting. They’re trying to get you angry so they can clip farm because they are making money off of this,” De Bellis said.

Opposing students held signs and screamed protest chants throughout the event. Many signs made reference to Hawkins being a fascist. One sign displayed proudly throughout the debate read, “she doesn’t even go here.”

“I would say that being pro-life is not actually being pro-life, I think that kind of distorts the pro-choice movement,” said WSU student Pearl Spurrell. “I would argue that it’s pro-forced birth. Our tax dollars are going to fund weapons of mass destruction that are killing children abroad, do their lives matter, are they going to talk about that?”

Hawkins is no stranger to debate. She has been leading Students for Life for over 20 years, touring campuses and engaging with students while racking up hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Hawkins spent a majority of her career advocating for a pro life nation and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a ruling she announced on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after the June 24, 2022, vote.

Gavin Lofgren, vice president of the WSU TPUSA chapter, worked to bring Hawkins to campus and spent the day encouraging students to speak up.

“We have been walking around telling people, hey, go exercise your First Amendment you know, that’s why she’s here,” Lofgren said.

Lofgren hopes to one day see a United States where abortion is completely banned, drawing similarities between current abortion laws and pre-abolition slavery laws in America.

“Most of our society was pro-slavery at one point too, and I’m just happy to be on the right side of history,” said Lofgren. “All of us are made in the image of God, it’s no different than murder.”

After the conclusion of the event, Hawkins held a meet and greet. Among the students who shook her hand and took a photo with her was Peyton Polsen, a member of the WSU club softball team.

“I have been following her since 2023. Kristan was able to make some great points and arguments today, I don’t like what the protesters had to say. I hope they can understand how absolutely brutal it is to murder a baby,” Polsen said. “I hope that they can find that babies aren’t just a clump of cells, babies are humans, and tiny little humans grow into amazing human beings that eventually run our country so I hope that people learn to want to save them. I am all for humans living.” 

Not every student in attendance was there by means of support or protest. Many students stopped at the debate to spectate without taking a stance.

“I’m pretty neutral on it, I lean more conservative, but I believe everyone deserves a choice, especially if your life is in danger,” said Makayla Lawman. “I think there is a lot of disrespect on both sides, especially in not letting other people talk.”

After the conclusion of the meet and greet, Hawkins was escorted from campus by her security team, being met with an even slew of compliments and ridicule.

After the event, Hawkins took to social media to post a photo of student protesters waving signs at her. The caption read, “met some clowns today.”